Meter system



Sept. 15 1931. A H, D wlNTQN vl,8?3,308

METER SYSTEM Filed Aug. 20. 1929 Patented Slept. 135,` 11931Z 'f f y1,823,308

HENRY D. WIVNTQN, oF WELLEASLE]MASSACHUSETTS,AASSIGNOR To nERsEY. MANU-FACTURING QOMPANY, orlSoUiTH BoSTo'iJ, MASSACHUSETTS, e

MASSACHUSETTS CORPORATION F MET-En SYSTEM Appi'icationld eglusfaogisee.,".siiaiinm'sszma ThisA invention relates to meter systems and is hereinillustratedr as embodied in a crossconne'ct'ion between apotableanda-nonlptl able supply system. n 2 A' demand fortwo "sources4 ofwaterisupply isfound in manyfacto'ries either'inorderto insurecontinuous operation where large `'quantities of water I are; usedvyforboiler feed, for cooling, or for various'other industrial 1Upurposes. In other cases the"demandffor two suppl-ies arises from''thelrequirements of the' insurance underwriters. y'l/Vith the jad-'vent of automatic sprinkler systems, llarge amounts ofpropertyare'gatheredtog'ether in zli? one building, but itis very evidentthat'the protection afforded by automatic zsprinklers isof little valueunless an immediate andadequate Ysupply yof water 'is assured under allvemergency conditions. r`Inforder tofprovide two such sources-ofsupplyfor any one'of'a number of reasons such as thosementioned, recourse isfrequently'hadtothe utilization of the public drinking-water supply asone source and to the utilizationof 'anotherprivate source whichveryjfrequentlyjis nt'potv'- able and, even-if it is,'isnotsu'tticientlyfprotectedp'to nbe safe forjutilizationv as "drinkingwater. n y A' [It is vcustomary to provide fa physical 'c onl'30 nectionbetween the two sources ofsupplyncludingcontrol valves, metersfand the Vlike, and check valves, sothattheauxiliary'source will be instantly andAautomatically available incase anr emergency arises without permittingthe flow of impure, non-potablewater into the public Supply system.yV,There can be no delay in case of-fire, for exampleya's one of thetremendous advantages of automatic sprinklers lies in Itheir ability` toextinguish "l0 fires'at 'the-start and these crosseconnections mustpermit an immediateuinflowiof water from the emergency supply,frequentlythe public water supply. n

It should be borneinvmind,however,lthat no matter how imperative theldenand and need may be, iti isstill more'iniperativethat the healthofthe publicshallnot lhe imperilled by `the introduction of unclean, ynon-potable water-into `the {public'supply :59 system. yA great many'instances *of out- .arises breaks of typhoid fever and otherwaterauthorities of Vrthe necessity yof carefullyy guarding against the'accidental introduction of non-potable water into the public sup# plysystem. This has led tothe requirementforthe use of morelthanone-automatic check `valve in' such a crosse-connection, in order thatthe vrpublie may notbe imperilled byfthe'breakdown or leakage of one ofthese valves, `and 'to the added requirement Vthat such Valves, ifinserted in yan'underground connection, shall be placed ina suitablebrick or concrete v`pit easily "accessible 4'for tests f the valvesatregular intervalsto see thatthey are continuing to function properly.Such installations, however, 'are expensive and useful onlyforprotectionpurposes.

vIt frequentlyhappensthat*the st'and-b'y or "emergency, sourceof supplyis "from a system such-as a public ksupply .systemf requiring themeteringof any watertaken' from 'thisemergency sourceeither in 'small'or large 'quantities and without` interfering 'with VAthe :free ow oflwater when .the emergency demand 1 in viewer the above, thisiinvenuojnfpiovides a novel'meter system 'by which the means "provided'for "measuring 'o'f the' water used 4may serve 'at the vsametlmeto`helpin t vprotectingthe'potable supply,

y 'A feature of i'the invention relates tothe utilization `of acheckvalve, herein'shown as of a type whichr can only be opened by4substantially maximum demand but'which when opened `will imposesubstantially 1noffrictional loss upon the flow of water, whichwillser-ve 'to cause small 'quantitiesl of water to -be .by-passedvthrough .a meter of small r capacity adequate for such y quantities,and which Will .also serve as a check valve top're- 4vent the Aback'flow' of f'nonepotable'water into the isystemf-lsu'pplying :potablewate'r. In? the 'accompanying' drawings,

fFigfl 'isafplan viewto'f a meter systemfarranged in accordance with myinvent-ion,

'TigQQis ja 'vertical elevati'on'of thefsanie, parts'being brokenawayand'in section; 'and Fig.' 3 'is a fragment-ary section on thelineIII-III of Fig. 1 showing a check valve in the by-pass.V A

ln the arrangement herein illustrated, it is assumed that the pipe isconnected to 'asupply of potable water and that the main 12 isconnectedY to a non-potable supply. In-v f loccasioned by anunusual.demandgarising from an emergency, before-,the valve can be opened. Atthefsame time the valvepis very readily held in open positionbythepassage of the water without setting up frictional losses'and lossof head such 'as wouldresult if the weightofthe valve flap and theauxiliary weighted lever 24 were combined to acty ,constantlyV upon theflapin all positions. For a more complete description of theconstruction of such a valve reference may be had to the application'ofJames A. Tildenl` Serial No.` 119,657,l filed June 30, 1926. An,- othercheck valve 26 having a flapjwith a rubber facing 2Zfis disposed withinAa casing 28 and arranged tofswing inthe same direction as the valve` sothat if, by reason of wear or ,inattentiom oney of these valves does notprevent the'ba'ck flow of .water from fthe source l12, theotlier valvecan be depended upon lso to prevent it. i Y

The 'check valve 2O is embodied in Ya casing 30 containing aproportional meter 32 of the type disclosedlin Lettersi Patent of themeter.

United States No. 797,027, ygrante'sd upon lthe applicationof James A.Tilden, and having a. diaphragm or wall`34 with ay large axial opening36 whichl does not interfere with the proper flow of water'through thecrossconnection and at lthe'saine time'diverts a proportional part ofthe water through the meter 32V so that all but flows of very vsmallvolume will be accuratelyv measured by'said It mayl at Vtimes be desiredto utilize small quantities of water from the potable supply 10 fordrinking or washing, for example, which would not cause the checkvalve2() to open. and which couldnot accurately bemeas'- ured by means oftheproportional meter 32. Accordingly, ythecasing 30 has an outletopeningand a. return opening 42 between which there is connected a bypass 44containing a meter 46 of smallbut adequate capacity for such flows asmay be permitted through the by-pa-ss 44. For emergency or testingpur-Thus it results that atleast two check lvalves are interposed-in anypath between the twosupplies, which'check valvesare arranged to preventthev back flow of water. At the same time my novel meter system ywillnot interfere with the passage of small quantities of water that may betaken from the supply 10 for any desired purpose and the check valve 2OYwill serve to deiiect ysuch small quantities throughthe by-pass meter46. Y These flows of water will at the same ,time be measured withouteither introducing an error because of the use of'a meter suitable forlarge flows of. water or,y conversely, without introducing an unduelossof head because of the utilization of a meter Vwhich is arranged tomeasure any quantity of water from small to large which may be passedthrough it. 1

The experience of many years inthe inspection of cross-connections andthe check valves embodied therein shows that a failure of onejof thesevalves is not infrequent. Such a failure might be caused by the lodgingof some foreign substance, such asa stone or a stick, on the valve seatso as to preventthe complete closing of the valve, or it might be causedby the wearing out of the valve itself as check valves for protectivepurposes are usually required to beprovided with rubber facings, such asthose shown at 23 and 27, which after long usage are liable to.disintegrate. .In order thatcomplete information concerningi theeffectiveness'wof the various valves may be obtained without breakingopen the pipe connections, the check valve 50 hasbeenprovided with adrain valve 54 while the check valve 26 has al drain valve 56.Additional information regarding the conditions obtaining is permittedby the provision of a pressure gage co1nbined with an air cock 62 uponthe casing 28 of the valve 26 and of a similar gage 64 and air cock 66upon the casing 30 at one side of and in front of the proportional meter32, considered with regard to the direction of flow indicated by thekarro'vv'52. Still another gage 68 with an air cock is provided upon theoutlet side of the check valve 50.

The use of such testing devices will be understood by those skilled inthe art but if, for

example, it is desired to test the checkk valve k50, thegate valves 14and 48 may be closed andthe drain valve v54 opened. If the gages 68 and64 do notshow any drop in. pressure thervalve 48` istight. If, however,a conuio tinued leakage through the drain valve 54 occurs and theby-pass meter 46 registers a flow, the leakage is in the gate valve 48.,It the bypass meter 46 does not register, then the leakage is in theVcheck kvalve 50.

y If it is desired to test the check valve 26, the gate valves 14 and 16are closed and the drain valve 56 opened. If the gage 60 shows no dropin pressure, then the check valve 26 is tight. Having found that thecheck valves 50 and 26-are tight, then the check valve 20 may betestedby closing the gate valve 14, opening the gate valve 48 and the drainvalve 54, and by observing the gages 68, 64 and 60. If the gage-64 dropsto zero while the gage 68 remains as high as the gage 60, then the checkvalve 2() is tight.

It will be understood that in the ordinary use of the system the gatevalves 14, 16 and 48 are open so that the supply 10 is immediatelyavailable for use to assist the supply 12. At the same time, any backflow from the source '12 toward the source 10 is absolutely prevented.

Having thus describedV my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is z i 1. In combinationin a water main, a plurality of check valves in series in said main andeach opening in the same direction, one of said check valves being amaximum demand valve constructed and arranged to open only uponsubstantially maximum` demand through said main, a proportional meter infront, of said latter check valve, a b-y-pass around said proportionalmeter and said maX- imum demand check valve, said by-pass providing forthe flow of moderate quantities of water without opening the lattercheck valve,

a meter of moderate capacity in said by-pass, and a check valve in saidby-pass allowing the flow of water only in the direction of flo-w lpermitted by said other check valves.'

2. In combination, a water main provided with a one-way check valve heldin closed position by its own weight to allow a flow of water only inone direction, a b-y-pass of small capacity connected to said water mainand having its inlet and outlet openings into the water main bothypositioned at one side of said check valve, with reference to thedirection of iiow through said main, means for permitting the flow ofwaterin one direction only through said by-pass, a small meter formeasuring said flow of water through the by-pass, a large meter locatedinthe main between the inlet and outlet openings of the by-pass andhaving a capacity to measure the full flow of water permitted by saidmain, another check valve located in said main between said inlet andoutlet openings of the bypass and constructed and arranged to be openedautomatically by the low of water -only when the demand for waterthrough the city located in said main between the inlet and outletopenings of the by-pass, a check valve in said main also located betweensaid openings, another check valve in said main between one of said gatevalves and said bypass, all of said check valves opening in the samedirection, and drain valves associated with said check valves to enabletests Jfor leakage through said valves to be readily made bymanipulation of said gate valves.

4. In combination, a water main having a protective one-way check valve,means forming parallel paths in series with said check valve, a meterand check valve in each of said paths, the check valves in said parallelpaths opening in the same direction as said iirstnamed valve andcooperating therewith to protect said main against back flows, one oisaid latter valves serving to hold one of said parallel paths closeduntil the demand reaches a predetermined amount and then to openautomatically whereby the total iow may be accurately measured by saidmeters irrespective of the volume at any one time.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

` HENRY D. VVINTON.

